Understanding the Impact of Gender Neutral Communication on Brand Image

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the impact of gender neutral communication on brand image. Methodology – This study was conducted using the experimental design framework of pre- post random group. The respondents were assigned into two groups: control and intervention. In the control group the respondents were shown a gender stereotyped advertising and the intervention group respondents were shown a gender-neutral advertising from the same brand. Pre-test was conducted to select the stimuli followed by a pilot study before final data collection. Selection criteria for the respondents were set to age 18-34 years, residing in Sweden and aware of the brand. Non-probability convenience sampling was done and respondents participated in the study through an online self-completion questionnaire. The respondents were randomly assigned in the respective groups. Total 154 respondents’ data was used in the study out of which 81 respondents belonged to the control group and 73 respondents belonged to the intervention group. Findings – The experiment confirmed that gender neutral communication has a positive impact on brand image compared to gender stereotyped communication. Our overall results implicate that respondents had positive attitude, clear brand association and positive brand image towards gender neutral communication. Based on our empirical results three key insights emerged: 1) there is a change in gender role ideologies in advertising from male/female dichotomy to inclusiveness and equality, 2) there is a gap in marketing literature on how target marketing is defined and hence the theory could be expanded to include the concept of gender neutral communication and 3) gender-neutral communication is the future of marketing and can be an effective tool for marketers is designing brand communication. Practical implications – The findings from our research demonstrate the effectiveness of gender neutral communication that can be a potential tool used by marketers to design communication targeting the millennials. Originality/value – Gender neutral communication is a nascent phenomenon in advertising which has not been explored in academic literature. Previous researches looked into gender and advertising from the context of gender stereotyping as the main theme and predominantly focused on the portrayal of female in advertisement. This is the first study to investigate and understand the impact of gender neutral communication from a male targeted brand like Axe.